(Photo/Dakota Antelman)
MARLBOROUGH – A second West Side Fire Station Committee has been formed and met April 3, Mayor J. Christian Dumais has announced.
“I am excited to announce the re-establishment of the West Side Fire Station Committee. As I mentioned in my inaugural speech, this station will not be built overnight. However, I am hopeful that this committee represents the first of many steps taken to ensure this station becomes a reality after decades of promises,” said Dumais.
The new committee will be chaired by Fire Chief Kevin Breen, and it will include assistant chiefs Jeff Gogan and Jeff Emanuelson; Police Chief David Giorgi; active and retired members of the Marlborough Fire Department; a representative from the city’s ambulance provider Patriot Ambulance; and Ward 3 and Ward 4 City Councilors Robert Preciado and Teona Brown.
“We are excited to be back at work on behalf of Marlborough citizens, businesses and visitors. Improving emergency response capabilities and response times is a worthy goal. Our committee will work together toward constructing a modern fire station in the west to meet increasing call volumes and ensure fair and equitable services community-wide,” said Breen.
The effort to construct a west side station began in July 2016 after development of large projects in the western part of the city, including Avalon Bay and the Apex Entertainment Center.
The original committee was formed by then-Mayor Arthur Vigeant and the City Council in 2018. That committee, of which then-Ward 3 City Councilor Dumais was a member, was charged with such missions as exploring locations for a new fire station, assessing the department’s performance relative to state and national standards, exploring the option of regional dispatch and evaluating costs.
The original committee commissioned a 171-page report of its findings to Vigeant in 2019.
In May 2021, the City Council approved an ordinance allowing Vigeant to move forward to negotiate and “acquire” necessary real estate to allow for construction of a fire station at the intersection of Elm and Bigelow streets.
The newly-formed committee will act as an all-volunteer, advisory body to the mayor.
The primary objective of the new committee is to search for and recommend a location for the new station, which will increase coverage to the west side and lower response times. Additional objectives include estimating an updated construction cost and surveying new stations across the state.
The city has close to $8 million for land acquisition and construction, Dumais said.
The committee will meet over the next several months to continue its work and make a recommendation to the mayor.
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